


An Irish Lullaby

by Chosca



Series: Little Niall [3]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Ageplay, Fluff, Infantilism, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-02 16:45:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4067275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chosca/pseuds/Chosca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall eats too much so Liam takes care of him, gentle and sure, as always.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Irish Lullaby

"Lunch!"

Niall looks up from his book, a smile spreading across his features. How he hadn't realized how hungry he was he'd never figure out, but the food smells delicious. He doesn't have to go far; Liam's shouting from the kitchen, "You can stay in the bedroom if you'd like, Nialler. I'll bring it in."

Niall closes up his book and slides it under the bed, along with his travel crayons. By the scent alone, he knows it's probably chicken. His mouth begins to water...wow, he really should've noticed his hunger earlier. He's ravished. 

"Coming in!" Liam calls, to which Niall immediately responds, "Okay!!"

Tonight is a Liam night. They'd all landed in London for the last week of break besides Harry, who'd decided to stay with his family back in Cheshire. Louis had insisted on going out (nothing new these days), which left Niall and his bandmate/full-time caretaker, Liam. Out of all three of them, Liam was the cuddliest, most hands-on one when it came to Niall. 

One Direction have a secret, although it's hard to cover up sometimes. Everyone knows how close they are, that they care deeply for one another. But it goes a little deeper than that. Niall is what they call a 'little', someone who sometimes wanted to be in the mindset of a young child to relax, take a load off, or simply because it was fun. Upon telling his band, they willingly agreed to play along (after all, it wasn't hard to baby their youngest bandmate). They became his caretakers whenever he decided to play little, on occasions affectionately referred to as 'daddies'. It came naturally as the years went by, the sometimes-everyday tasks becoming a second nature and more fun for everyone involved. It seemed to have brought out more maternal instincts than they were previously aware of.

Niall loves his caretakers with all his heart. It's a special kind of love...a special connection, and a trust so powerful it couldn't be explained if they tried.

"Chicken?" Niall asks, getting to his feet. Liam had dished out their lunch on their very own plates: big boy plate for Liam, football plate and fork for Niall. 

"Yeah! Daddy's favourite."

Niall beams. Everyone in the band loves KFC, but Liam the most. Made meals a hell of a lot easier when they were travelling together.

"Smells soooo good," Niall drools, wheeling the tray closer to where he sat on the bed. His plate was piled with chicken strips, seasoned chips and a fillet burger. Knowing Liam, he probably had more wrapped up in the kitchen for later (or for seconds!).

"Eat up!" Liam sings, devouring a delicious fry with enthusiasm. "Gravy?"

"Yes please."

"Good boy," Liam mumbles, drizzling gravy over Niall's food, "using your manners."

Niall makes a quiet, happy little sound. It doesn't take long before he's diving into his lunch, and before long Liam's looking at him with a pinch of concern. 

"Slow _down_ , Nialler," he says with a chuckle. "It's nobody's food but yours, it's not going anywhere."

"Hungry," Niall whines gruffly, shovelling chicken into his mouth. He is, but he doesn't take into account the consequences. He never usually does, but, that's Niall. Liam knows this, as well as the very reason why Niall functions best with his caretaker.

"I don't want you to get a tummy ache," he says softly, rubbing Niall's back.

"I won't," Niall retorts, not even stopping to look up. 

Liam clears his throat and sighs. The rest of lunch is spent sending worried glances over at his little, all the while enjoying his meal. Niall seems to be doing the same thing, engulfed in potato and chicken bliss. He loses himself in it, going as far as to help himself to seconds (much to Liam's protest). Niall feels fine and dandy, that is until.

"Nnnnn..."

Liam eyes Niall down, hoping he realizes what his look stands for. He doesn't even have to say anything for his baby to look down guiltily. 

"...It hurts."

"I know, love. What did I tell you?"

Niall's quiet for a moment. "You said to stop eating so much or I get a tummy ache."

Liam nods slowly, disposing of the packages and chicken bones. As a pair they'd demolished lunch, but Liam had known when he was done. Niall had filled himself to the brim, and currently moaned and groaned and found it a little hard to breathe. He'd bloated what little belly he had.

"So full," he whimpers, rolling onto his side. "Full up."

"At least you've eaten," Liam points out, but he can't resist cooing just a bit. He cares about Niall, silly as he can be sometimes. What's a caretaker there for other than to take care of his little?

"Roll over," Liam sighs, kneeling on the bed. Niall does as he's told, lying flat on his back with another pained whimper. This has certainly happened before, as Niall was definitely known for eating more than his own bodyweight often. That's when Liam came in. He digs amongst the various special things Niall kept in his 'little feelings' bag down beside the bed. Once he has what he'd been looking for, Liam crawls on over.

He hikes Niall's shirt up until his belly's exposed, and slowly begins to rub it in circles. Snuggling closer, he curls himself around his baby, depositing the pacifier carefully between Niall's lips. 

" _Lu lu lu la lu,_ " he sings softly, pressing a kiss to Niall's forehead. Immediately, Niall begins to mellow out. Right away he's able to recognise the singing as one of his favourite lullabies. It sounds so beautiful when Liam sings it. He closes his eyes, sucks delicately on his pacifier and tries to focus on Liam instead of his aching belly.

" _Over in Killarney..many years ago,_ " Liam's voice is like a gentle breeze, carrying across the room so softly, " _My mother sang a song to me...in tones so sweet and low. Just a simple little ditty...in her good old Irish way. I'd give the world if she could sing...that song to me today._ "

Niall turns his head to bury his face in Liam's shirt collar with a low hum. Liam's falsetto is heavenly, as always. Almost as though it's made for lullabies.

He begins on a low note and continues slowly, quietly.

" _Too ra loo ra loo ral...._  
_too ra loo ra li..._  
_too ra loo ra loo ral...hush now...don't you cry._ "

Niall's eyes fly open when he notices he's dropping off. He usually naps after lunch, but not this early. He'd looked to spend more time with Liam but his pretty singing is proving it quite difficult. Niall almost wants to tell him to stop, but he can't bring himself to. He wants to keep listening, keep dozing. It's like the pain was never there in the first place.

" _Too ra loo ra loo ral...._  
_too ra loo ra li..._  
_too ra loo ra loo ral...that's an Irish lullaby._ "

Niall huffs a bit, prompting Liam to giggle softly. There's a long, silent break in the song, and Niall begins to wonder why as he slowly resumes dropping off to sleep. Liam's breathing almost has exactly the same affect as the lullaby, anyway. It's comforting, just knowing he's there...watching over him.

Just as he's on the very cusp of sleep, a specific knock on the door startles the absolute hell out of both of them. By the knock melody they'd decided to create for safety, they know it's one of the boys. 

"Fffuck me," Liam mutters, his warm palm going still over Niall's tum. "Come in."

The door beeps and Louis is side stepping into the room, surveying the couple without much to say. He's used to it. "Scared the shit out of us," Liam says, letting his head drop down beside Niall's on the pillow. Niall makes a noise, nudging Liam's hand to continue rubbing, and it does.

"Sorry," Louis chuckles, looking quite the opposite. He chucks his keycard onto the bedside table and toes off his shoes. 

"So, what's this about then?"

"He ate too much," Liam says, and without opening his eyes Niall can tell he's smiling. He grunts in response. "The old stomach ache."

"He ate too much," Louis echoes, pretending to sound appalled. "Well this is _definitely_ the first time coming."

Niall wants to take his pacifier out just to tell Louis to shut up, but he can't bear to waste the effort on petty insults. Liam and the tummy ache and the lullaby had all made him rather drowsy, and despite how early it is in the day, he can't help wanting to nap now.

"I was singing him a lullaby," Liam continues. "Toora Loora Loora," - Louis nods knowingly - "yeah. Got him a bit sleepy, didn't I?"

Niall manages a single nod, and Louis laughs, parking his butt down on the bedspread. Just as Niall had hoped, he curls around him on the opposite side of Liam and rests his hand upon the tum in question. Louis smells like cologne and bars and that stuff his friend wears, but most of all he just smells like...Louis. That alone calms Niall, always and without fail.

Louis's voice is reduced to a low and crackly whisper. "What part were you up to?"

Liam clears his throat as quietly as he can, and Niall settles in. Louis falls into the tune, backing Liam beautifully. 

" _Oft in dreams I wander...to that cot again. I feel her arms a-hugging me...as when she held me then. And I hear her voice a-hummin'...to me as in the days of yore, when she used to rock me fast asleep...outside the cabin door._ "

Their singing becomes distant in Niall's mind. Louis changes from backing vocals to background humming and echoing, creating an even dreamier melody. Liam slips his fingers between Louis's, and as they circulate together their warmth is even greater than it was before. Niall feels himself begin to slip off, as his best friends, caregivers, daddies, sing him to sleep.

_"Too ra loo ra loo ral, Too ra loo ra li,_  
_Too ra loo ra loo ral, hush now...don't you cry._  
_Too ra loo ra loo ral, Too ra loo ra li,_  
_Too ra loo ra loo ral, that's an Irish lullaby."_

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this one! 
> 
> The song in this fic is called Toora Loora Loora, and it's beautiful, especially when it's sung the traditional Irish way. I recommend giving the slow lullaby version a listen :)


End file.
